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My Son’s Senior Year Feels Like Time Is Running Out

July 19, 2020 By Christine 3 Comments

Senior year is coming

I hear the mudroom door slam and the sound of my son yelling, “I’m home, Mah. What’s for dinner?” floats up the stairs to my office. I find him, rummaging in the refrigerator, ravenous after a full day of working on a house renovation for a local realtor. His job this summer has kept him […]

Filed Under: Parenting Is Hard Enough Tagged With: parenting, parenting teens, teens

Hubby And I Disagree About Alcohol And Our Teens And It’s Stressful

June 23, 2019 By Christine 4 Comments

alcohol

When I was fourteen, I attended a cast party after a high school theater production. When I walked into the house in my white Keds (with friendship pins) and my jeans rolled just so, the parents of the hostess directed me to the back patio where the party was being held under the starry spring […]

Filed Under: Parenting Is Hard Enough Tagged With: teens

Your First Child Can Make You Feel Like You Are Screwing It All Up

June 2, 2019 By Christine 1 Comment

Screwing up

When the nurse handed me my son after delivery, I panicked. I felt my heart start to race, my hands started to shake and I could feel sweat forming on my forehead.  “Am I holding him the right way? What if I don’t know what he needs? What if I screw him up?” I looked […]

Filed Under: Parenting Is Hard Enough Tagged With: teens

Advanced Placement Classes Are Hell And It’s Okay If Your Kid Says NOPE.

May 23, 2019 By Christine 30 Comments

advanced placement

When our kids were small, we moved to a new school district in time for my son to start kindergarten. As I was filling out his new student paperwork, I realized, unexpectedly, that our new district had a different age cut off than our previous district. This meant that my daughter, already enrolled in preschool, […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: teens

I’m Trying Not To Push My Teens Into The Activities I Loved in High School

April 7, 2019 By Christine 1 Comment

activities

When I dropped my daughter off at cross-country practice, I paused to watch the high school marching band rehearse. As I watched the kids play their instruments and the color guard practice their routines, I was instantly transported to a time when I, too, twirled a flag in front of a frenzied Friday night crowd. […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: high school, High School Daze, teens

Here’s How To Send Your Son To A High School Dance In 50 Easy Steps

March 31, 2019 By Christine 2 Comments

high school dance

Now that your kid is in high school, I hate to break it to you: gone are the simple days when you drop your child off at an elementary event run by friends of yours on the PTA. Back then, you told your kid to grab his shoes and $2 and dropped him off at […]

Filed Under: Parenting Is Hard Enough Tagged With: high school, High School Daze, prom, teens

I Parent My Teens Through The Lens of Grieving. And It Sucks.

March 24, 2019 By Christine 1 Comment

Grieving

My teenaged son walked in the door from school and I caught a glimpse of my father. It was fleeting, lasting only milliseconds, but for a tiny moment in time, I could see the way my father’s features had melded with my son’s. And, as it happens during those moments, my heart broke a little […]

Filed Under: Losing My Dad Tagged With: grief, teenagers, teens

My Teen Daughter Has Found Her Passion And It Takes My Breath Away

March 17, 2019 By Christine 1 Comment

Teens passion

I came to the sport of running late in life. Though I ran on my high school track team, I hung my running shoes up for many years until the strain of sleepless nights and baby weight became too much for me. In my early thirties, I dusted off on my running shoes and I […]

Filed Under: Parenting Is Hard Enough Tagged With: high school, parenting, teens

Sending a Kid to High School Is Harder Than The First Day of Preschool

March 10, 2019 By Christine 3 Comments

High school teens

When the nurse handed my son to me, I expected to feel an instantaneous bond. As I peeled back his blanket and took in his old man scowl, though, I surprised myself as the words, “I’m not qualified to raise a human” came to mind. And I promptly looked around for a grown up because […]

Filed Under: Parenting Is Hard Enough Tagged With: high school, High School Daze, teens

Social Media Has Brought Me Closer To My Teens And I’m Not Sorry

March 3, 2019 By Christine 2 Comments

social media

As any parent of teens will tell you, social media and technology are a part of a teen’s everyday life. From texting to snapping, teens are wholly immersed in a media world that still feels foreign to parents of our generation. And, if you are like me, it can often feel like you are struggling […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: social media, teens

I Am The Mom With The Big Mouth So You Don’t Have To Be.

February 24, 2019 By Christine 3 Comments

Big mouth mom.

Recently, I dropped my 15-year-old son off for a weekend away with friends. They were going canoeing and he was excited to spend 48 hours knee deep in water and sleeping on a hammock with his buddies. As I stood with him, waiting for them to pack up their gear, I assessed the group, particularly […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: teens

Parents, We Need To Talk About The Word “Commitment”

January 24, 2019 By Christine 9 Comments

Commitment

Parents, we need to have a chat.  *pauses to allow parents to grab coffee and gather ’round* Can we please talk about the word, “commitment”? Or, shall I say, the overuse of the word “commitment” when we are talking to our teens about their extracurricular activities? (My apologies to the parents who thought I was […]

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: teens

Listen Up, Parents: Success Looks Different On Every Kid, Okay?

October 21, 2018 By Christine 2 Comments

Success looks different for every teenager.

As I sipped hot coffee in a café, I listened to my friend detail the latest in her son’s journey towards college admission. Because her son is interested in attending the same university my son wants to attend in a few years, I was curious to learn the ins and outs of the application process. […]

Filed Under: Parenting My Way Tagged With: teens

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